The National Day of Racial Healing originated in 2017. This year, for the first time, Western Illinois University will participate in the event.
“We all play a part in making our world better, and we can all be that little bit of difference to improve things,” said Carl Ervin, Director of the Office of Justice, Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity at WIU.
He believes the idea of healing is a good step toward making the world a better place.
Ervin said he has seen strides toward racial healing during his lifetime, though he added there’s been some regression in recent years.
“It’s sort of like that period right after reconstruction and things went back down and it took a while to come back up. I think we’ve gone back down now, so we have to interrupt that with these efforts we’re making now so that we don’t repeat that part of the past,” Ervin said.
The National Day of Racial Healing is Tuesday, Jan. 16.
Western will mark it with a series of events beginning that day and continuing through the end of the month.
Tuesday, Jan. 16:
9 a.m.: WIU President Guiyou Huang and Macomb Mayor Mike Inman will present proclamations for the National Day of Racial Healing at the WIU JIDE Office, University Union, Suite 110.
2-3 p.m.: WIU Veterans Resource Center Director Ron Pettigrew, along with the Macomb and WIU communities, will discuss healing from global, national, state, and local events in the University Union Sandburg Lounge.
6-7 p.m.: WIU Professor of Sociology and Anthropology Robert Hironimus-Wendt will speak on "Racism for White People" in the University Union Sandburg Lounge.
Monday, Jan. 22: 2-3:30 p.m.: WIU Professor of History Peter Cole will speak on the Chicago Race Riot of 1919 Commemoration Project in the University Union Sandburg Lounge.
Tuesday, Jan. 23: 2-3 p.m.: Associate Vice President of Global Studies Randy Glean will speak on Xenophobia in the University Union Sandburg Lounge.
Wednesday, Jan. 24:
2-3 p.m.: WIU’s 2023 C.T. Vivian Scholar Rev. Tamera Izlar will host a Diversity Storytelling Workshop in the University Union Sandburg Lounge.
Monday, Jan. 29:
1-2 p.m.: Student Government Association (SGA) Vice-President of JIDE Winter Unverzagt and SGA Speaker of the Senate will discuss student-based advocacy for Latin American immigrants in the United States in the University Union Lincoln Room.
Tuesday, Jan. 30: 2-3 p.m.: WIU Professor of Religious Studies Amy Carr will speak on "How to Combat Anti-Semitism" in the University Union Sandburg Lounge.
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